I doubt Lieberman would get the nomination. He hurt Gore in 2000, and Gore didn't even endorse him in OTL 2004 when he ran, granted it was due to the Iraq War, but still no one in the base really liked Lieberman, Howard Dean however is a possibility.
The Towers Still Stand: An Alternate take on early 21st Century America.
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I doubt Lieberman would get the nomination. He hurt Gore in 2000, and Gore didn't even endorse him in OTL 2004 when he ran, granted it was due to the Iraq War, but still no one in the base really liked Lieberman, Howard Dean however is a possibility.
He's in my top three choices for the ALT 2004 Democratic nomination at the moment. So far it's him, Dean, and a living Paul Wellstone. I have not decided who it will be yet, but even if I did I wouldn't tell so early on...
Thanks. That may change as time goes on, but so far and since way before I physically started this TL, those were my picks for ALT 2004 (I've wanted to do a no 9/11 TL for a long, long time).
February 27th, 2001. Bush gives an Address to a Joint Session of Congress:
On February 27th, 2001, President George W. Bush gave an Address to a Joint Session of Congress on the Goals of his Administration. In his address, the President proposed a tax cut, doubling the child credit, and a repeal of the Death tax. The President also called for modernizing the military and called for education reform as well as Social Security reform, and proposed increasing spending for education, Medicare, and Social Security. Bush also said that be asked John Ashcroft, the Attorney General, to develop specific recommendations to end racial profiling.
The President's Approval Rating throughout the month of February was 62%.
62% is better than I expected. I wonder if he'll keep it up(probably not).
What about John Edwards? Might he be the 2004 nominee? Or even Al Gore for a rematch? Also, I'm interested in the 2002 midterms. Will Democrats take Congress? And will there be no Iraq War TTL? Probably not, Saddam might still be in power today, though there's a slim chance. But I'll let you write the TL. Looking forward to it.
What about John Edwards? Might he be the 2004 nominee? Or even Al Gore for a rematch? Also, I'm interested in the 2002 midterms. Will Democrats take Congress? And will there be no Iraq War TTL? Probably not, Saddam might still be in power today, though there's a slim chance. But I'll let you write the TL. Looking forward to it.
Is this TL going to be entirely focused on the alternate effects on America or will you explore the overseas butterflies? Doing just the first makes it easier to write, follow and probably more accurate but is also a limited approach and it'd be interesting to see overseas butterflies. Not that I'll mind very much either way.
Also, for an alternate Democrat nominee, how about John Edwards? After Gore failed, partly because he was too boring, the Democrats would be looking for a more slick candidate, rather than a candidate with national security credentials. Just a thought.
Keep up the good work, looking forward to seeing where this goes.
Also, for an alternate Democrat nominee, how about John Edwards? After Gore failed, partly because he was too boring, the Democrats would be looking for a more slick candidate, rather than a candidate with national security credentials. Just a thought.
Keep up the good work, looking forward to seeing where this goes.
I want to try to explore some international butterflies, but it is rather difficult for me, as I've always been interested in the effects the butterflies would take on America and its politics. Iraq and Afghanistan will get at least some focus though. As for Edward's, he would be very easy to attack from the fact that he was running for the Presidency in part because he knew he wouldn't be re elected to the Senate, that's why Dean, Gephardt, and a living Paul Wellstone are for now, my top choices for the Democratic nomination in 2004.
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for a living Paul Wellstone for VP.
Fair is fair, butterflies took Cheney out, balance calls for Wellstone put in.
Besides, I liked PW. He may have been confused on some things, but he always struck me as essentially a decent man.
[Also, not knowing how you intend to proceed, since 9/11 arguably led to the extreme crazies in the conservative Republicans (even though Clinton's Presidency was egging them on), no 9/11 could possibly lead to something similar for liberal Democrats -- to the point where Bernie Sanders changes parties earlier.]
Candidate Kucinich, "I don't like to use the 'C' word, but Governor Perry's policies are distinctly on the, uh, Right."
for a living Paul Wellstone for VP.
Fair is fair, butterflies took Cheney out, balance calls for Wellstone put in.
Besides, I liked PW. He may have been confused on some things, but he always struck me as essentially a decent man.
[Also, not knowing how you intend to proceed, since 9/11 arguably led to the extreme crazies in the conservative Republicans (even though Clinton's Presidency was egging them on), no 9/11 could possibly lead to something similar for liberal Democrats -- to the point where Bernie Sanders changes parties earlier.]
Candidate Kucinich, "I don't like to use the 'C' word, but Governor Perry's policies are distinctly on the, uh, Right."
Is Jeffords still going to leave the Republicans?
I think Edwards would be a likely nominee for the Democrats.
I think Edwards would be a likely nominee for the Democrats.
I could have Lieberman run, but lose the nomination. I think after a DLCer losing a winnable election in 2000, corporate scandals possibly getting more attention than OTL, and with no 9/11 and resulting wars, the Democrats might start moving towards the left earlier than 2008.
Jeffords will still leave the GOP. He did pre 9/11 and did so over the Bush tax cuts IRC.
As for Edwards, I think he'll be competitive, but I question if the Democrats will put a one term senator up against an incumbent President.
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Britain without Iraq and Afghanistan is going to be... interesting.
Blair will have a much better legacy, Brown won't be handed a poisoned chalice and might actually manage to be more popular (If Tony can be persuaded to give up)
I expect at some point something awful would happen to stir up the tensions in the Middle East but whether thats enough to get the USA's size nine feet smashing around the place remains to be seen.
Blair will have a much better legacy, Brown won't be handed a poisoned chalice and might actually manage to be more popular (If Tony can be persuaded to give up)
I expect at some point something awful would happen to stir up the tensions in the Middle East but whether thats enough to get the USA's size nine feet smashing around the place remains to be seen.
I like this TL, but I do have one major problem with it.
The Electors of the Electoral College don't meet until the middle of December. Not only could Bush have asked them to cast their Vice Presidential votes for someone else, he probably would have, too...
Now, I'm not entirely sure what states back then bound their Electors to vote for who they pledged their support to (if any) but that could certainly throw a wrench into things, considering it would likely be considered Constitutionally dubious at best to cast an electoral vote for a dead man.
The Electors of the Electoral College don't meet until the middle of December. Not only could Bush have asked them to cast their Vice Presidential votes for someone else, he probably would have, too...
Now, I'm not entirely sure what states back then bound their Electors to vote for who they pledged their support to (if any) but that could certainly throw a wrench into things, considering it would likely be considered Constitutionally dubious at best to cast an electoral vote for a dead man.
This is like the West Wing plot with <SPOILERS> Santos having to select a new Vice President after Leo dies. In the end he felt that, although he could have asked the Electoral College to select a new candidate, it was best to use the 25th Amendment so that the country would have a voice (through their Congressmen and Senators) as to would be running the country should something happen to Santos.
Bush has just won an extremely close and, some will argue, controversial win. I'm sure that he wouldn't want to invite additional criticism by having 270 unknown electors select the person who would be a heartbeat from the Presidency. It makes more political sense in this case to use the 25th Amendment to fill the vacancy. Bush can even score points as a uniter by building a consensus among both parties as to who that person should be.
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